ALL NOVEL Chapter 118 – Limited Exchange
0033 June 19th, 2020 CE
Washington D.C.
Ronell’s face was extremely bitter. It was almost as if he aged 10 years and got a hundred wrinkles. “Missiles? Are we certain that's not a glitch?"
“We are confirming it right now and preparing for the possible need to intercept the missiles.”
“Get NORAD on the goddamn line.”
On the screen, General Albert appeared. “Mr. President.”
“Are you certain this is not…”
The general replied as if he had expected the question. “No, Mr. President, it is not a glitch. We are 99% certain that those are in fact missiles. All of them are headed for San Francisco.”
Ronell took a deep breath. “Where exactly are those missiles from?”
“We detected missile launches from this island in the western part of the Pacific.”
The screen changed to depict a satellite map of the Pacific. Ronell pinched the bridge of his nose as he replied. “Make that 100%. I have just recently been informed that that is where these creatures came from. Do we know what kind of missiles they are?”
“Due to their range and their exoatmospheric capabilities, we are categorizing these five missiles as intercontinental ballistic missiles. However, we are uncertain as to what type of warhead they are carrying. They could be conventional, biological, chemical, or nuclear. We are also uncertain if they are MIRVs.”
“Are we able to intercept them?”
“I have already put in motion the orders to shoot them down. We have the Ground-Based Midcourse Defense in Alaska that will fire once the missiles are within range. If the missiles get through that, SM-3s fired from ships based in Naval Base San Diego will attempt to shoot down any that get through.”
“What are the chances of intercept?”
“We are 90% certain we are capable of intercepting all five missiles.”
Ronell sighed. “Only 90%...”
“Mr. President, sir, shooting down an ICBM is a complicated task. To be honest, the 90% estimate might be an overestimation... in our simulated tests in perfect conditions, the GMD system has had only a 55% success rate overall. We are hoping the newest variant of the SM-3s... that we haven't tested yet... could do something.”
“I know… I know that it's complicated…we can only hope for the best. Has this information gotten to the ground forces in San Francisco yet?”
“They should have been informed already.”
“Thank you, General. Now if you don’t mind, I have an island to wipe off of the face of this fucking planet.”
The screen turned off as Ronell faced the room.
“Get me the Pentagon’s deputy director of operations and the commander of Strategic Command again.”
2035 June 18th, 2020 CE
Fort Greely, Alaska
Multiple Ground-Based Interceptors flew up into the starry Alaskan sky out of their silos. The exhaust flame lit up the cool night.
2135 June 18th, 2020 CE
Judson Avenue, San Francisco
“Corporal!”
Just as Eric arrived onto friendly grounds after crossing the avenue, his Second Lieutenant shouted at him. Eric looked around. Multiple Abrams tanks had situated themselves on the downward slope that was right besides the sidewalk. Only their turrets were exposed on the avenue. His Second Lieutenant came running to his group. “Corporal, good to see you. Find a vehicle and get in. We are retreating!”
Eric looked quizzically at his Second Lieutenant. “What? Why, sir? I thought this was the last line before these monsters got to the evac site?”
“The monsters somehow have missiles. NORAD just detected five launches at San Francisco. It might be nuclear so we are gonna pull back as much as we can before they hit.”
“What? What about the civilians?”
“We are putting the remaining civilians in trucks and prioritizing the roads for them. Get yourself to safety.”
“Understood, sir.”
“Also, don’t get into a Humvee. Get in a Bradley or Stryker if you can, those have CBRN protection. If you can’t, then get into an Abrams. If the missiles are just biological or chemical weapons, you will be fine in them.”
“Do we not have gas masks?”
“Logistics is getting them here right now as fast as possible but there won’t be enough for everybody. If you get a mask handed to you, put it on and get into a Humvee.”
A few minutes later
Eric, John, and Ian piled into the back of a Bradley. They were squeezed in since the Bradley was already crowded with the original squad.
“Good to have you folks onboard. Sit tight. Until we get the all clear, stay inside the vehicle.”
0035 June 19th, 2020 CE
Washington D.C.
On screen were the same men who authorized the usage of a nuclear bomb on the dragon.
“Twice in less than a few hours, Mr. President?”
Ronell nodded. “We have located where these monsters have come from and they have just launched missiles at San Francisco. I want a nuclear strike on that island. It's quite obvious that these creatures are a threat to humanity and we need to act now. Any protest against this?”
Nobody said a word.
“Alright. I want to authorize the use of a nuclear ICBM. I’m afraid they will use more missiles so I want the fastest option possible.”
The commander of Strategic Command nodded. “Understood sir.”
“Since it's a new day, I guess we have the new codes right?”
The Pentagon deputy director of operations looked at his card. “Yes, Mr. President. Oscar Hotel.”
An aide gave the President a black laminated card. Ronell looked at it. “Juliet Tango.”
2240 June 18th, 2020 CE
Malmstrom Air Force Base, Montana
The missile combat crew commander turned to his deputy after looking at the screen. “We are getting launch orders. Open the safe.”
The safe that contained the Sealed Authenticator was locked with two locks. Each of them had a key to open one of the locks. They both opened their respective locks. The deputy looked at the code from the screen as the commander got the Sealed Authenticator out of the envelope. “Are the SAS codes valid?”
The commander nodded. “They are the same. You take a look”
“Yep, they are the same.”
The commander got in front of the Launch Control and began typing in the code. “Okay. It's all typed in.”
The commander and his deputy put in their respective keys to their own Launch Control. They looked at each other and nodded. Both of them turned their key.
The silo hatch slid open and a tower of flames spewed upwards and brightened the entire area. Covered in the flames, an LGM-30 Minuteman III missile shot out of the silo. Almost like a massive bright star, the ICBM traveled upwards in a curve towards the sky.